HIV self-testing and HIV nondisclosure to male sexual partners among adolescent girls and young women living with HIV in semi-rural northern Uganda: a cross-sectional study.

Background: The burden of HIV remains disproportionally high among the adolescent girls and young women. This is often coupled with nondisclosure of HIV status partly due to delayed knowledge of HIV status which affects entry into HIV prevention interventions. HIV self-testing which provides instant knowledge of HIV status is being promoted to enable early disclosure. However, previous studies about the association between HIV self-testing (HIVST) and HIV disclosure are scarce. We, therefore, set out to determine the prevalence of HIVST, nondisclosure of HIV status to male partners, and the predictors among adolescent girls and young women living with HIV (AGYWLHIV) in Uganda.

Methods: In a cross-sectional study design, a stratified random sample of AGYWLHIV were recruited from ART clinics in semi-rural northern Uganda between November 2022 and April 2023. The participants received an interviewer-administered questionnaire. HIV self-testing was defined as the use of the HIVST method by the AGYWLHIV to discover their HIV status. Similarly, HIV nondisclosure was defined as the AGYWLHIV's failure to disclose her initial HIV status to her current male sexual partner before their first sexual intercourse regardless of the use of condoms.

Results: A total of 423 participants with a mean age of 21.6 ± 2.5 years participated in the study. The study found that only 3.8% of the AGYWLHIV discovered their HIV status through HIVST. Furthermore, 26.7% of the AGYWLHIV did not disclose their status to their current male partners, 35.5% experienced non-disclosure from their current male partners, and 16.5% experienced bidirectional non-disclosure. The predictors for non-disclosure of initial HIV status were found to include the AGYWLHIV's knowledge of their initial negative HIV status [APR 0.3 (0.2-0.5), p 0.001], the AGYWLHIV's knowledge of their initial positive HIV status [APR 0.5 (0.3-0.7), p 0.002], the AGYWLHIV's prior knowledge of the positive initial HIV status of the male partner [APR 0.4 (0.2-0.8), p 0.010] and the male partner's nondisclosure of their initial HIV status to the AGYWLHIV [APR 2.0 (1.2-3.5), p 0.008].

Conclusions: The prevalence of HIVST and HIV nondisclosure to male sexual partners among the AGYWLHIV in semi-rural Uganda stood at 38 in 1000 and 267 in 1000 respectively. The HIVST wasn't associated with HIV nondisclosure but the women's initial negative or positive HIV status, the male partner's initial positive HIV status and the male partners' nondisclosure of their initial HIV status to the AGYWLHIV were found to be independent predictors. These findings point to the need for health workers to target the distribution of HIVST kits at the AGYWLHIV attending ART clinics to give them to men in their sexual and social networks to expand access to HIV testing, improve chances of two-way HIV disclosure and entry into the HIV prevention, treatment, and care services.